Shrinking Vanita is a delightful read, full of laughter, madness and the unshakeable belief that children can and will save the world! With a little help, of course. From a puppy called Giggles and a bag full of fridge magnets.
Three days to go before a gigantic killer asteroid will end life on Earth! Everyone is in a panic. Everyone, that is, but Vanita, who has things to do. Such as saving the planet.
– from the blurb of Shrinking Vanita
Isn’t that a wonderful premise? Shrinking Vanita delivers what it promises – a feisty protagonist, a mixture of science and madness and a joyous aha! moment.
Oh, and the book won the Peek a Book children’s choice award, so it’s child-approved.
Like every other book we’ve read at my book club, I chose this one because it’s full of possibility!
What if?
I love doing activities around the question ‘what if?’ What if you knew the earth would be destroyed in three days? What if you had a superpower? What if you could get your own way by telling a lie? These are all wonderful conversation starters and I can’t wait to hear what children come up with!
Superheroes
What powers would you like to have if you were a superhero? What powers do we need to solve specific problems? And what problems would you be able to solve with superpowers?
This activity serves as a rudimentary creative writing exercise too, an introduction to the idea that all stories must have a problem and a solution!
Kinaesthetic learning
I love books that provide the scope to roam around and do something else before returning to the screen, and I have so many ideas of what to do with Shrinking Vanita. They can talk about magnets they have, explore space-related objects, and
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